The 9,000 Stenciled Human Silhouettes Remembers Those Who Fell on D-Day

Nine thousand stenciled human silhouettes were etched into the sand at Arromanches, France, to coincide with International Peace Day to remember the 9,000 civilians, Allied and German forces who fell on June 6, 1944.

An idea by British artists Andy Moss and Jamie Wardley, the two invited volunteers to create 9,000 stenciled figures by raking the sand. Titled 'The Fallen 9000,' the incredible work is to honor all those who perished on the Normandy landings during World War II. The idea behind the creation was to “create a visual representation of what is otherwise unimaginable—the thousands of human lives lost during the hours of the tide.”

While Wardley said about 60 volunteers signed up to print the stenciled human silhouettes into the sand, the entire project would have required a lot more people. On the day of the project, however, people spontaneously showed up, with people from Germany, France, the U.K. and as distant as Chile appearing to complete the work. The silhouettes were eventually washed away by the tide.
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